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Viacom Has the Shows That Keep Paying

By Jim Cramer

 About this article:
 Viacom's not going down, because Viacom's got properties that are an annuity stream, and because it is less advertiser-supported that the release and the analysts make out. This is a franchise play -- franchises like SpongeBob and Transformers and Star Trek -- and it is a cable play, which we know from NBC Universal is where the action is. SpongeBob, according to the trade press, is an $8 billion franchise alone when you consider all of the merchandising. Transformers is a billion-dollar franchise, too. The low cost of a lot of its successful programming, including Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, VH1 and MTV, makes every content company envious. Now there are many weaknesses here that I don't want to play down. Rock Band looks like it is finished as the video game business totally wanes. The ad market is terrible for everyone. The overhead costs here are still too fat....

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